- Sputnik International, 1920
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.
A man passes a graffiti by street artist 'Uzey', depicting a nurse as a superhero amid the coronavirus pandemic on a wall in Hamm, Germany, 28 September 2020. - Sputnik International

Live Updates: Germany Registers 17,176 New COVID-19 Cases

Subscribe
The global death toll from the coronavirus infection has topped 2.77 million; over 126 million cases of the infection have been detected, according to Baltimore, Maryland's Johns Hopkins University, which tracks and compiles data from national and local authorities, the media and other sources.

The United States has the highest death toll and overall coronavirus tally, with 30.2 million infected and 548,000 fatalities. It is followed by Brazil (12.4 million cases and a death toll of over 310,550) and India (11.9 million cases, 161,000 deaths), while Mexico has the third-highest death toll, with over 201,000 fatalities and over 2.2 million infected.

US authorities have administered a record 3.38 million coronavirus vaccines in a single day, White House COVID-19 Response Team Data Director Cyrus Shahpar said.

Follow Sputnik’s feed to find out more.

New firstOld first
02:18 GMT 29.03.2021

PRAGUE (Sputnik) - The Elisabeth Pharmacon lab has discovered a new strain of the coronavirus, Czech biologist and company’s founder Omar Sery said on Twitter.

"Thanks to the sequencing of samples from patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, our laboratory discovered a hitherto undescribed mutation of the spike protein," Sery said.

The epidemiologist explained that the new mutation does not appear to be more contagious, and COVID-19 vaccines should be effective against it.

"Fortunately, the mutation is in a position that should not affect the binding of antibodies or cellular receptors," Sery said on Twitter.

The Czech Republic has confirmed over 1.5 million coronavirus cases. More than 173,000 are current active cases. The country’s COVID-19 death toll stands at 24,800.

21:48 GMT 28.03.2021

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United Arab Emirates and China on Sunday launched a joint project to initiate the first COVID-19 vaccine production line in the UAE, WAM news agency reported.

According to the media outlet, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, launched the "Life Sciences and Vaccine Manufacturing in the UAE" project by the Gulf country's Group 42 and China’s Sinopharm companies to produce the COVID-19 vaccine.

"The joint project is an added value to the international efforts being made in the face of the COVID-19 crisis which has been taking a toll on everyday lives across the world. The UAE ... believes in the importance of collective action and concerted efforts in fighting such crises," Al Nahyan said, as quoted by the news agency.

To date, the UAE has authorized the Pfizer/BioNTech, Sinopharm and Sputnik V vaccines.

20:09 GMT 28.03.2021

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Several employees of the Moscow-based Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology were revaccinated with Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, Denis Logunov, the deputy director of the institute, said on Sunday.

"Some of the employees were vaccinated a long time ago, and a number of them, the elderly, have been revaccinated, with very good response," Logunov said on air Channel One.

Last week, an epidemiologist at Russia's consumer rights watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said that reimmunization with the adenovirus-based Sputnik V vaccine would not be effective, as the antibodies developed after the first inoculations would neutralize and block the components of the newly-administered shots, making them redundant. Later, Alexander Gintsburg, the director of Gamaleya Institute, which developed the vaccine, pushed back by saying that repeated immunization with Sputnik V was possible and was likely to be more effective than the first one.

During the pandemic, Russia was at the forefront of vaccine development, having come up with three different coronavirus vaccines — Sputnik V, EpiVacCorona, developed by the Siberian research center Vector, and the Chumakov research institute's CoviVac.

In February, peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet published an interim analysis from Phase 3 clinical trial of Sputnik V, showing its 91.6-percent efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19. The vaccine has already been approved in over 55 countries.

20:04 GMT 28.03.2021

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) - Chief Minister of the Indian state of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday asked health authorities and a COVID-19 task force to prepare for lockdown if infection cases continued to grow at the same speed.

India has been witnessing a sharp rise in the number of daily coronavirus cases since the beginning of March with the number rising to over 62,000 and being the highest this year. The state of Maharashtra in the north of the country — home to India's second-largest city of Mumbai — imposed a night curfew this weekend amid the rise in new infections.

At a meeting with the coronavirus task force, Thackeray said that restrictions similar to lockdown would be imposed if people continued to violate COVID-19 protocols.

"That is why strict steps like lockdown must be considered," the chief minister said, as quoted by Indian media.

Earlier this month, the city of Amalner in Maharashtra introduced a three-day lockdown due to a surge in the COVID-19 cases.

India comes third in terms of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, following the United States and Brazil, with more than 12 million.

17:14 GMT 28.03.2021
Laboratory workers work in the pilot production phase of Russia's Sputnik V Coronavirus vaccine for COVID-19 at the pharmaceutical company Uniao Quimica in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. - Sputnik International, 1920
North Macedonia Receives 2nd Batch of Russia's Sputnik V Vaccine, Health Minister Says
15:39 GMT 28.03.2021
Russian President Vladimir Putin - Sputnik International, 1920
No 'Aping': Putin Reveals Why He Didn’t Get COVID-19 Jab in Front of Cameras
15:10 GMT 28.03.2021
14:11 GMT 28.03.2021

Almost 30 percent of German citizens believe that Health Minister Jens Spahn is responsible for the COVID-19 vaccine shortfalls in the country, according to a fresh poll for the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

Per the survey results, 29 percent of respondents lay the blame on Spahn and another 26 percent on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Notably, half of those Germans who think the health minister is at fault supported his resignation.

When asked about German Chancellor Angela Merkel, only 14 percent of respondents said she was to blame for the COVID-19 vaccine shortages, 15 percent held neither of the three accountable and 16 percent did not give a definite answer.

The poll was conducted last week among over 1,200 adults.

Since the beginning of its mass vaccination drive in late December, Germany has inoculated 8.6 million people with the first dose, and 12.3 million with the second one, which is 4.5 percent of the country's population.

11:46 GMT 28.03.2021

Turkey will start vaccinating people over the age of 60 and those with underlying health conditions as the numbers of daily infections start to rise, local media reported citing the minister of health, Fahrettin Koca.

The partners of those aged over 60 will also be eligible for a COVID-19 jab, Hurriyet Daily News reported, citing Koca.

On 18 March, Turkey reportedly completed its program for vaccination of people over 65 and health workers.

Turkey began vaccination in January with the CoronaVac vaccine made by the Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac. Earlier this week, the country received 1.4 million doses of the US-German Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

The country has a good track record on protecting senior citizens, as less than 10 percent of coronavirus-related deaths in Turkey happened in nursing homes, compared to 50 or more percent in other countries, the newspaper reported, citing the director of services for the disabled and elderly.

08:34 GMT 28.03.2021
A nurse prepares to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Guy's Hospital in London, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020 - Sputnik International, 1920
UK to Offer COVID-19 Vaccines to Ireland, Mulls Helping Other EU Nations, Reports Say
08:34 GMT 28.03.2021

People in Japan will be given a choice of a coronavirus vaccine, a senior official in charge of  vaccination campaign, Fumiaki Kobayashi, said Sunday.

"We'll create an environment where people have a choice," the official said as quoted by the JIJI news agency.

The government will publish information on which COVID-19 vaccines are available at each vaccination site, Kobayashi reportedly said.

Japan's vaccination campaign started in February with BioNTech/Pfizer jabs. In addition to Pfizer, the country is set to receive AstraZeneca and Moderna.

08:06 GMT 28.03.2021

The French government will assess the impact of the current COVID-19 restrictions, but nothing has been decided yet on any further measures, President Emmanuel Macron said in an exclusive interview with Journal du Dimanche.

"In the next few days, we will look at the effectiveness of the current measures and if necessary we will take new ones. But as of now, nothing has been decided," the French president said in response to rumors of new measures.

Macron said that France was doing very well on vaccination targets for those over 80 and added that over 90 percent of residents in care homes have received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

On Saturday, France opened vaccination to those over 70. According to the president, a "fast-track" line will be open to those over 75 and yet to get their first dose of the vaccine.

"The complete closure of schools cannot be a taboo, but must remain a last resort," Macron added stating that schools would be left open until further notice.

The French president said he did not regret avoiding a lockdown in February as suggested by many scientists and thanked medical professionals and all the French for taking the measures seriously.

08:00 GMT 28.03.2021

Russia has registered 9,088 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, up from 8,885 the day before, taking the tally to 4,519,832, the coronavirus response centre said on Sunday.

"Over the past day, 9,088 coronavirus cases have been confirmed across 84 Russian regions, including 1,160 cases (12.8 percent) without clinical symptoms," the centre said.

The cumulative case count thus totaled 4,519,832, with the rate of increase remaining at 0.2 percent.

The highest daily increases were confirmed in Moscow (1,878), St. Petersburg (701) and the Moscow Region (610).

The death toll has risen by 336, down from 387 the day before, to 97,740.

Total recoveries have grown by 8,630 over the given period, down from 10,337 the day before, and reached 4,139,128.

07:23 GMT 28.03.2021
07:08 GMT 28.03.2021
05:58 GMT 28.03.2021
04:30 GMT 28.03.2021

India recorded 312 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours, as of Sunday, which is the highest registered number since 25 December, local media reported.

According to The Hindustan Times, around 83 percent of all death cases in the past 24 hours were reported in six states that have also showed a trend in the rise of daily infections. The capital, Delhi, is also reporting the highest number of deaths since 23 January.

India has been witnessing a sharp rise in the number of daily COVID19 cases since the start of March with the number rising to over 62,000 and being the highest this year.

The state of Maharashtra in the north of the country — home to India's second-largest city of Mumbai —  imposed a night curfew this weekend amid the rise in new infections.

04:28 GMT 28.03.2021
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала